sheldon



(ModeL) l 2 Shefis-Sheet 1.

I'. P. SHELDON. V MAGHINEFOR FEEDING FRONT SHELLSVTO BUTTON MAKINGMAGHINERY.

No. .245,408. Patented Aug. 9, 1881.

(ModeL) %Guests-Sheet 2.

F. RSHELDON. MAGHINE FOB. FEEDING FRONT SHELLS TO BUI'T-ON MAKING MACHINERY. No. 245,408. Patented Aug. 9,.188l.

& 6080 tmiren STATES ATENT rrict FRANK P. SHELDON, OF PROVIDENGE, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY B. METGALF, OF PAWTUCKET, R. I., AND W ILLIAM MCCLEEBY, OF BOSTON, MASS.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING FRONT SHELLS TO BUTTON-MAKING MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. .245,408, dated August 9, 1881.

Application filed November 17,1880. (Model) To all whom tt may concem Be it known that I, FRANK P. SHELDON, of the city and county of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvemcnts in Machines for Feeding Front Shells to Button-llzlaking Machinery; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished and forming a part therero of, is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention.

My said improvements relate to the manufacture ot'that class of buttons composed in part ot' sheet-metal front shells, which are united by compression in suitable dies with one or more other separate parts, according to the special character of the button; and my said improvements, as a whole, have been devised for the automatic feeding of such front zo shells to the dies of abutton-'naking machine; but certain portions of my improvements are also of value in connection with mechanism specially devised for automatically feeding collets It is not broadly new to automatically feed cup-shaped shells to the dies of button-machines and other machines more or less analogons; but niy invention relates to novel means for assembling the shells in regular succession 0 in uniform positions, and for positively delivering` them directly to the proper dies of the button-making machine.

lu the nanufacture of the ordinary two-part metal buttons the compressing or joining dies 3 are of a less delicate nature, and co-operate with less nicety than the dies essential for the manufacture of buttons embodying two metallic parts, a cloth cover, a cloth trick/ a shank, and usually a heavy paper filling, and

it is for use in connection with the manufacture of this variety of buttons that my present improvements have been specially devised. The tine character of these dies renders them specially liable to injuryin case more than one 5 shell be fed at once, or in case a shell should be presented to the dies in a reversed position-i. e., wrong side up or in case a shell should be improperly located upon or in a die. I have thereforc provided special safeguards at various points between the hopper which contains the shells in mass and the dies, which practically assures the correct presentation of the shells and their precise accurate delivery to the dies.

The several devices and combinations of devices believed to be novel will be specified in the clainis herennto annexed; and while I prefer an organization enbodying all ot' said feai tures, I an well aware that some of them may be profitably employed separately in connec- 6o tion with mechanism other than that now disclosed by me.

To particularly describe my invention, I will refer to the accompanying two sheets of drawings, in which- Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a side view of my feeding inechanism, but having its hopper in central vertical section, and a portion of the dietable and a dieof a button-making machine. Fig. 2, Sheet l, is a frontviewof the same with the adjacent end of the hopper broken away. Fig. 3, Sheet 1, is a lateral sectional view'of the guideway or chute with a shell thereon in proper position to proceed to the dies. Fig.

4, Sheet 1, is a similar view, represeuting a shell in a reversed position in the act of discl'arging itself from the chute or guideway. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is an enlarged front view of the delivering-nippers about to deliver a shell to the die. Fig. 6, Sheet 2, is a similar view of the same having just delivered its shell. Fig. 7, Sheet 2, is a side view of a spring-lever which operates in opening the nippers for receiving a shell.

The hopper A may be variously formed; but to co-operate properly with the lifting nechanism shown it should be concave at the hottom from side to side, as shown, and should have at its lower front end inside an inclined surface, as at a, for causing such blanks as are improperly proceedin g toward the dies to be thrown rearward, when dropped thcreon, to join the mass of blanks, so as to be again within range of the lifting mechanism.

The hopper may be located more or less close to the die-table B of the button-making machine, the inclined chute O being of greater or lesser length, its delivery end terminating sufficiently near the die b for the interposition of the nippers D.

The hopper contains atwo-armed revolvin scoop, a', having pans, which lift up masses ot' shells and pour then toward the center ot' the hopper. Said scoop is mountcd upon a revolving shaft, a to which power is applied from any convenient source.

The shells may be variously lit'ted from the mass and poured toward the center of the hopper; and although 1 show a rotary scoop as a convenient and efiective device, I do not limit myself thereto, for I an well aware that vertically-reciprocating lit'ters ot' various forms may be as well employed inflthat connection.

The portion of the chute C which is within the hopper is complex in its Construction. At its inner end there is a wide flaring plate, c', constituting one side of the'chute, upon which the shells are poured by the scoop during its revolution and directed down ward into the chute in an irregular mass, facing in all directions, cupped into each other, &0. Only such shells as singly fall into the chute on their edges can roll down its inclined bottom, and to dispose of those which lie crosswise, &c., and are piled upon each other, the side and bottom c ot' the chuteis made novable by being hung from a rod, 0 on penden't arms, which are so controlled by a spiral spring as to cause the novable side and bottom e to occupy normally the same position as it' fixed to the opposite side ot' the chute. As the scoop a' revolves two bent studs, 0 on its arms engage with the pendent arms ot' the movable side and bottom e and swing the latter outward for dropping back into the lopper all the shells which could not enter the fixed portion of the chute at The entrance to the chute at 0 is of such width as will only admit a single shell at a time, and although the shells (because their rins fiare but little) seldom get inside ot' each other, they cannot enter the chute it' so conected together, but they are dropped back into the hopper, as before described. The two sides ot' the chute, especially at its entrance, should be made :adjustable with reference to each other, to provide for the proper reception of shells having wide or narrow rim s.

The concavo-convex backs ot' the shells invariably cause them to fall backward it' placed edgewise on their rims, and I avail myself of this fact in providing for the delivery into the lower end of the chute of shells facing in one direction only.

In Figs. 3 and 4 l have shown in section a portion of the chute (within the hopper) which has an opening, c cut in one side of the chute and extending nearly to the bottom thereof.

In Fig. 3 a shell in proper position is shown with its back against the adjaecnt inner side of the chute and on its way to the lower end thereof.

In Fig. 4: a shell in a reversed position is shown in the act of falling backward or sidewise through the opening 0 from which it falls upon the inclined portion a of the bottom of the hopper and ningles with the mass of shells.

The length of the chute from the opening to to its extreme lower or delivery end may be indefinitely varied according to circumstances. and the operation of the scoop is such that the number ot' shells delivered by it to the chute will be always largely in excess of their actual delivery to the dies, so that the chute between the lower end and the opening c will be almost always full, and at such times some of the shells in proper position will be discharged through said openings, as well as those which are reversed in position.

While it is obviously preferable to enploy with the chute a hopper and shell-lifting nechanism, it will be seen that one person may supply the chutes of several machines with a large reserve of shells, even it' each shell has to be placed therein by hand, and that considerablc economy in atten dance would result therefrom.

The delivery of the shells from the lower end of the chute in the manufacture of this class ot'bnttons should, as before hercin stated, be nuch more accurately performed than in machines adapted to the manufacture ot' buttons which are not covered with cloth.

The automatic delivery ot' shells has heretofore been elfected in button-machines by a plunger Operating at righ t a ngles to and through the base ot' the chute, for enteri'g the interior ot' a shell and forcing it backwise directly into a die. This mode ot' operation is not practicable in machines which involve the system of complex dies essential for the manufacture of cloth-covered buttons requiring the shell to be delivered to a die rim wise prcparatory to the receipt by the same die ot' a cloth disk overlying the back ot' the shell. The same is also true of a prior system of delivery from the bottom ot' a chute, involving the employment of a sliding plate perforated to receive the lowest shell in the chute and to nove it above and upon a revolving feed-wheel correspondingly pert'orated, so as to drop the shell into the holes ot' the feed-wheel, from which holes the shell is forced by a plnngerintoithe dies whenever the holes in the feed-wheel are placed coincidently with the dies. This reliance upon gravity in dropping the shells to either a feedwheel or to dies is far too precarious for an automatic feed in machines for making covered buttons, and therefore the delivery is efi'ected by me with means which securely hold the shells in their proper position during their transit from the chute into the die., and by which they are actually forced upon the usual plunger within the die. Suchaplungeris shown at b', and it will be readily seen that the shell must be truly placed thereon, after the manner of a cap, and that if it were merely dropped thereon it would be liable to be dropped too far to the one side or the other to enable said plunger to properly co-operate upon the shell with certain other dies (not shown) which are IOS IIO

essentially involved in the manufaeture of cloth-covered buttons.

I attain an accurate delivery of the shell from the ehute to the die by means ot' antomatie nippers which have curved jaws, and therefore grasp the shell eircnmferentiall y, and which move in the arc ot' a circle directly to and into the die, forcing the shell upon the plunger in said die.

The nippers D have twojaws, d and e. These jaws are preferably made adjustable t'or working with shells of various sizes, or readily detachable, so that they may be removed and others applied when desired. The jaw (I is fixed with relation to jaw c, and is integral with a vibrating segmental plate, d', on which the movable jaw e is also pivotally mounted. The segmental plate is pivotally monnted by being firmly attached to a rock-shalt, dwhich extends beneath the hopper to the opposite end, at which point it has a stud or pin, d which projects at right angles therefrom, for enabling' it to be partially rotated by means ot' the pendent lever (1 which is vibrated by cam (1 on the scoop-shai't ti?. The said cani at each revolution ot' its shaft swings the nippers and the segmental plate npward from the die and maintains itin that position during about onehalf of the revolution.

At the rear ot' the segmental plate, and encircling the rock-shaft (1 is a spiral spring, (1 so set as to force the segmental plate and nippers toward the dies when permitted to do so by the can (1 which occnrs during about onequarter of the revolution ot' the latter.

The novable nipper-jaw e is located upon the end ot' a cnrved lever, c', pivoted to the seg-mental plate, and maintained in its grasping position by a springmsecured at one end to the side of the segmental plate, and having a tree hearing upon thelever at the rearofits pivotal t'ulcrum. The rear end ot' the lever 0 has a rectangularprojection, 6 which perforns an important part in the opening ot' the nippers.

The opening ot' the nippers to receive a shell t'rom the chntc is effected by means ot' a curved vertical spring arm or lever, 6 pivoted near its lower end to the bed-plate ot' the machine, and free to vibrate forward toward the nippers, bnt rigid as to its rearward movement. The spring-lever is so located with reference to the path of' the projection 6 on lever c' during the baclcward movement of the segmental plate that said projection will slide downward along the edge of the vertical spring-lever 6 which thereby forces that end of lever e' downward faster than the lever is being moved bodily with the segment-al plate, thus opening the nippers. When the segmentalplate has completed its backward movementthe proj ection 6 on lever e passes below the spring-lever 6 therebypermittingthenipper-springc to actfor closing the nippers. The next forward movement of the segmental plate carries the lever e' and its projection 0 forward into its normal in moving the jaw-lever for releasing a shell is thatof a cam-surface acting against the projection 6 on lever e', and tlisfunction isin nowisc dependent upon the chute as such, for a separate plate or vertical rod would perform the same service.

The release ot' the shell from the nippers, heing dependent upon the movement ot' the nippers themselves, is an important feature, because the grasp upon the shell is firnly maintained'by the nippers until just preeeding the terminatio of their rapid downward movement, and tlerefore the accurate (lelivery ot' the shell to the die is assured.

The segmental plate, in addition to its function as a nipper-carrier, operates as agnard for the delivery-aperture of the clute during the absence ot' the nippers theret'rom, its rear side being in close contact with and across the lower end ot' the chute dnringits entire movement, and preventing the escape ot' shells, except whe'n the nippers arein position to receive one.

I am aware that in cork-tapering machines as heretot'oie constructed a pivoted box having a movable side automaticallyoperated has been located midway in a ehute between the hopper and tle (lelivery end ot* the chute for changing the position of corks singly from a vertical to a horizontal position and delivering them on their sides to a lower portion ot' the chute preparatory to delivery theret'-om, and that with such box a segmental plate has been enployed for guarding the lower end of the upper portion of the chute during the movements ot' the box; but; said nechanism would not be applicable to feeding'shells to button-machine (lies, because incapable of firnly grasping a shell circumt'erentially or delivering it flatwise into dies.

The jaws of the nippers are curved,so as to firmly grasp the shell; but the inner side ot' the' lower or fixed jaw, d is shorter than the outer side, so that a shell can roll r aadily from the clute into said lower jaw preparzto'y to the fall of the upper jaw in circumferentially grasping the shell, all of which is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1.

The operation of the several parts having been described in connection with the detailed description ot' the separate devices, it will not be necessary to further refer thereto.

Although I have specially devised the mechanisn shown and described for feeding the main or front shells of buttons, I am aware that the entire organization may be employed IOO ICE,

for feeding collets whenever in form they so far approximate to the form of the shells shown as to be capable of control in the same naner as the shells; but as the collets are usually lighter and have more fiat-ing PllDS of less width, I have preference for mechanisn s1')eciallyarranged therefor. Thenippers, however, with only such nodifications in the. shape of the interior ofthcirjaws as will enable them to better grasp a collet, are used by ne in connection with a chute difi'ering only in its proportions from that now shown by me, in conibinatiou with collet lifting and arranging nechanisn which I have specially devisedas an accompaninent for this or similar shellfeeding nechanisn upon the same class of button-making machines.

The same chute, hopper, and scoop may also be em ployed for arranging and prescuting to the dies the heavy paper disks einployed as fillings for buttons of this class, and nippers like those shown may also be employed therewith for delivcring the fillings to the dies, although I have specially devised delivery mechanisn' for pertbrming that particular service which 1 deen preferable.

I considerit of practical advantage to so lift the shells in mass as to admit ot' their being ponred downward into a chute located partially within the hopper, or in such relation thereto as will ad mit of the automatic delive'y of the surplns shells lit'ted back into the hopper to be again lifted, instead of requiring said surplusage to be returned by hand to the hopper t'ron time to tine, as would he necessary if the discharge ot' surplns shells was et'- fected outside of the hopper.

Having thus described claim- 1. The combinaton, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the die-table B and its dies, a chute for containing button-shells in position ready for delivery, and the nippers having curvedjaws, and constructed, arrauged, and Operating, substantially as described, to receive a shell rolling froni the chute, to grasp it circumterentially, and to carry and force it into a die and leave it there, as set forth.

2. The conbination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the hopper, lit'tin g mechanisn, chute, and the nippers having curved j-. ws and adapted to receive a shell rollin g from the chute, to grasp it circuinferentially, and to carry and force it into a button-machine die.

3. The conbination ot'the chute, the nippers having curved jaws, and the segmental plate,

my invention, I

Operating as a guard across the delivery end ot' the chute during the absence of the rippers therefrom, substautially as described.

4. The combination ofthe chute, the curvedjaw nippers, the vibrating segmental plate, and the vertical spring-lever for opening the nippers to receive a shell from the chute, substantially as described.

5. The coiubination ot' the nippers having a fixed curved jaw and a movable curved jaw, the lever on which the novable 'aw is mounted, and the fixed surface at or near the side of the chute for nioving the jaw-lever in opening the nippers to release a shell therel'rom, substantially as described.

6. The chute (l, provided with a side openc' substantially as described, whereby, when shells are improperly entered and rolling down said chute, they will tip laterally and fall through said opening, as set l'ortl 7. The conbination, with the hopper and automatic shell lifting and pouring mechanisn, of the inclined chute G, located partially within the hopper, and constructed to receive the shells edgewise thereon and to discharge the snrplus slells back into the hopper, substantially as described.

S. The conihination, snbstantially as hereinbefore described, ot' a hopper, lifting mechanism, and the chute having a novable side and botton which is'ih'ated at intervals for dischnrgingshells back into the hopper, except when properly delivered i'-on the lt'ting mechanisn.

E). The combiuation, substantially as hereinbet'ore described, of the hopper, the lit'tingscoop, and the chute having the side opening therein for discharging froni the chute shells which are proceeding therein in an mpropcr position. i

10. The conbination, with the chute havin the side opening, ot' the revolving scoop and the hoppcr having an inclined botton below the opening in the chute, substantially as descrihed.

11. The conibination, substantially as hereinbefore described, of the nippers and the spring which throws theni forward with a shell and the cam which moves the ppers backward and eauses theni to rest in an opened position in front of the chute for allowing a shell to roll into thcjaws of the nippers.

FRANK P. SHELDON.

\Vitnesses:

LEMU-EL H. FOSTER, DEXTER B. POTTER. 

